


A Lack of Luck

by eafay70



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Canon Compliant, Getting Together, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-19
Updated: 2019-03-19
Packaged: 2019-11-09 10:13:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17999876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eafay70/pseuds/eafay70
Summary: Zach ponders his feelings for his roommate and friend.





	A Lack of Luck

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is for the following March 2019 prompts from Pens Monthly:  
> -player (ZAR)  
> -trope (pining)  
> -pic [(clover)](https://www.flickr.com/photos/kmoncier/3578667969/in/photolist-a6jDvc-a6nxZq-a6jzia-6seBiT-29Mnzq-a6nrDQ-hGSJt-norbRJ-4Xw4Hq-a6jBDx-a6npVJ-3ENSDY-2E48fr-fNW9z3-6y54Kz-a7HfGY-deKjoz-cDwTy-6HZjR-nxSyVs-MtAWS-6WNSa5-wS3ZZ-6xypXs-4G9mBj-fhoSah-uw11HL-go6sk-53MykB-art9Fc-e3owXD-5dz1K9-6D7Kqb-7LerQL-89Mcqn-7Umjhm-53zGHU-KmzZtH-Jq9A5v-ojbEFG-KeDWCT-28yCmpC-oP3LZE-6wYFwM-7ETLgs-pfmULH-a6nAqo-8tGcz2-5tjAgt-689oa8)
> 
> I was also inspired by [this article](https://www.nhl.com/penguins/news/zach-aston-reese-icetime/c-305834660) about Zach designing the program cover for the Penguins game on St. Patrick's Day, specifically the fact that it featured his roommate Jake.
> 
> I've tagged this as "Canon Compliant" because Zach's real-life injury is mentioned, albeit not in detail. If you feel this or any other element of the fic warrants different tagging, please let me know.

To state the obvious, being injured was absolutely no fun. Zach almost wished that he still had the St. Patrick's Day program cover to work on so he would have something to do, but he was happy with the final design after a month's work. More importantly, he mused to himself as he walked down the quiet street where he lived, staring at a picture of Jake any more than strictly necessary was probably bad for his heart.

Despite a lot of pondering, Zach had no idea why his feelings for Jake had changed at the start of this season from a normal friendship to a crush, but they had. It probably didn't help that they were roommates and teammates; if anything, that just added to the reasons why Zach was keeping his feelings to himself. It wasn't fun, but it was the only option.

Zach's eyes fell on a patch of clover near the sidewalk. He bent down carefully to pick up one and sighed in disappointment when he realized it had only three leaves, not four as he'd originally thought. Nevertheless, he stood up and put it in his pocket before heading back home and placing it on his desk. "It's as unlucky as I am with this crush," he chuckled to himself.

Maybe it was just a result of all the work on the program cover, or maybe it was his stupid crush, but Zach found himself wondering what Jake would do if Zach gave him the clover. Jake was a funny guy, so he'd probably make a joke about Zach trying to mess up his good luck. But he was a nice guy, too, so he'd thank Zach for the present anyway. Zach could picture Jake twirling it in his fingers and smiling up at him, making Zach's heart beat even harder as per usual.

Or, Zach's imagination supplied, maybe Jake would make a joke about being lucky without needing all four leaves, then lean towards Zach slowly with a question on his face. Zach would lean towards Jake and nod in answer to that question. They'd kiss so, so, so softly for just a few moments. Maybe they would keep kissing, or maybe they would pause to talk about their feelings - because maybe, just maybe, Jake liked him back.

"No," Zach scolded himself out loud. "I'm not Jake's type. I'm his roommate, teammate, and friend. That was good enough before, so it's good enough now. I just have to get over him."

"Get over who?"

Zach turned around quickly to see Jake standing in the hallway. "Oh. You're home."

"Yep, just in time to hear you tell yourself to get over your friend." Jake leaned against the wall, a small smile on his face. "I didn't know you liked guys, too."

Zach's jaw dropped. "I didn't know you did." This changed things...well, maybe...actually, this didn't change things at all for the aforementioned reasons.

"Zach?" Jake whispered. "This might be very wishful thinking on my part, but...if you were talking about me, you don't have to."

All Zach could manage to say in response was, "Huh?"

Jake took a step closer. "I like you a lot," he said, still whispering. "So if you like me a lot, too, then you don't have to get over me."

Zach took a few steps closer so they were close enough to touch. "I was," he whispered before leaning down and kissing Jake. It was soft and only lasted a few moments, just as Zach had imagined, but Jake's happy smile when they pulled apart was even better than Zach could have ever imagined, so he knew his luck had changed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
